The De Blois family

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OLD BOSTON FAMILIES

NUMBER ONE

THE DE BLOIS FAMILY

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By

ARTHUR WENTWORTH HAMILTON EATON,
M.A., D.C.L.

1913

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PUBLIC LIBRARY

656

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ASTOR, LENC-
TILO N FOMWDAl i_ ,

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OLD BOSTON FAMILIES

Number One

THE DE BLOIS FAMILY

The founders of the three American branches of the De Blois
family were Stephen^ De Blois, who was born at Oxford, England,
24 July 1699 (vide infra, 2), and the two brothers Stephen,'^ Jr.,
and George^ De Blois, who were born at Oxford in 1735 and 1740
respectively, sons of George,^ who was born at Oxford in 1710.
(Vide i)ifra, 3, 6, and 7.) Stephen^ lived first in New York,
and then permanently in Boston; Stephen,' Jr., lived finally at
Newport, R. I. ; and George,^ commonly called "George, Sr.,"
lived first at Salem, Mass., and then at Halifax, Nova Scotia. With
Stephen,' Jr., at Newport, lived also his sister Mary ("Polly"),
who was born about 1743, and died unmarried at Newport, 11
Dec. 1818, aged 75. In, ,4-merica .tbe nam,e of the family has
almost without excepticii^ibeen,, felled 'pijiHer JI)ebloi8 or De Blois,
though in the earliest nlention of ,Stepbe,n, De Blois in the records
of King's Chapel his name i'r'giyeii as publois. In the entry which
he made in his Bible, as also" ih signirUg as a witness Governor
Burnet's will and signing: hisl^sJ^yAi ,wiHj„" Stephen spelled his name
clearly Deblois, and to thfs s'[7eiling many of his descendants have
adhered. The name of his second son Stephen spelled Lewis, not
Louis, though it is probable that the first Oxford ancestor of the
family when he came to England spelled his name in the continental
way. The ancient family Bible of Stephen De Blois is a treasured
possession of Dr. Thomas Amory De Blois of Boston.

1. LouTS^ DE Blois, or Lewis De Blois, of Oxford, England, accord-
ing to De Blois family tradition came to England as a Huguenot refugee
as early as 1688, and was in King William's forces at the Battle of the
Boyne in 1690. Beyond this tradition, which has not been verified, nothing
whatever is known of his origin, except that it was undoubtedly French.
Records of St. Clement's Parish, Oxford, state that his first wife, Martha,
was buried at Oxford 24 June 1 698, having borne her husband five chil-
dren. The name of the second wife is not known, nor is it known when
she died, but she bore her husband seven children. Louis de Blois was
bvu-ied at Oxford in June 1739.
Children by first wife :

i. Mary,'' bapt. 25 Oct. 1688.

ii. William, bapt. 17 Feb. 1689/90.

iii. Abkailvm.

iv. Lewis.

v. Constance, bapt. 22 June 1698.

Children by second wife :

2. vi. STEruEN, k 2-t July 1699.
vii. Francis.

viii. Samuel, bapt. 9 July 1704; d. 1799.
ix. Secundus.
X. Lezee.

3. xi. Geokge, b. 1710.

Xii. jAifE.

2 Stephen" De Blois {Louis'), born at Oxford 24 July 1699, and
baptized in St. Clement's Parish 21 July 1700, came to New York
in Sept. 1720 in the ship Seahorse, commanded by Capt. Philip
Dumaresq, in the retinue of Governor William Burnet. He mar-
ried in New York, 16 Feb. 1721, Ann Furley, who was also in
the household of Burnet and had come in the same ship with her
future husband. Within the precincts oi ^ort George at New York,
where Governor Burnet kept his stately court, their three children
were born. Governor Burnet's removal to Massachusetts in July
1728 undoubtedly caused the transfer of the family to Boston,
where Stephen De Blois connected himself, as did his patron the
Governor, with the parish of King's Chapel. The earliest written
record thus far found of Stephen De Blois is his signature as a witr
ness to the wni of Governor Burnet in New York m 1727, and
the next is a vote of the vestry of King's Chapel on Easter Monday,
26 Mar. 1733, " That M"- Dublois be Organist for the year ensuing,
at Fortv pounds Salary." .In the led - of King's Chapel, also, is
the following enth \' -'V 1^35 Jnlj. ^"/J. 'W ^tep"^ Dnblois for 1
qu^ Sallery to 25fh\hine -rO.eO.OC^rV It^v«S voted, 30 Mar. 1 / 41, by
the vestry of the Chaiiel-.tiiat.'^ Stprfiea De Blois, Organist,' should
receive " y« Same SalkjA: ^jsjlisiryeaf; p £50." On 11 Apr. 1748,
" Steph'' beblois, Ojsrakiisfc^" .is ^d tp have been paid ''in tu 1
of his year's Sallery 'iloVidAaS'S-aO.?]?}.': (Annals of King's Chapel
vol. 1, pp. 421, 524, and'vol. 2,*p. lOfr)* The first mention found
of Stephen De Blois in property records is in Mar. 1736, when
he takes a mortgage from Michael Asher, a tobacco and snuff
manufacturer, on property situated at Chambers and Lynde Streets,
including the snutf-mill and the stock of tobacco and manufactured
snuif which it contains.

From the register of King's Chapel it appears that Mrs. Ann
(Furley) De Blois died 4 July 1762, aged 75, her funeral bemg
held three days later. i o/? t ^

Stephen De Blois's will, dated 10 Aug. 1//7 and proved 26 June
1778 mentions his sons Gilbert and Lewis ; his daughter Sarah
Wall'is and her husband William Wait Wallis ; the children, William,
Elizabetli, Lewis, Francis, John, and Stephen, of his son Gilbert ;
the children, George, Sarah, Lewis, and Gilbert, of his son Lewis ;
his daughter Sarah Wallis's daughter Sarah; and his brother
Georffe in Oxford, and his sister Twycroft, presumably also in
Oxford, both of whom had children. At the time of the makmg

* Governor Burnet's will was made in New York, but was proved /^ Boston, where

of the Governor's household, was so much a musician that as early as 1733 he became
organist of King's Chapel.

of his will both his sons were refugees in England, and he
pathetically mentions the improbability of his ever seeing them
again. In their absence he appoints his nephew Stephen De Blois
of Newport, R. I., Mr. John Timmins of Boston, merchant, his
son-in-law William Wait Wallis, and his daughter Sarah W^allis as
his executors. If his sons, however, return l>efore his estate is set>-
tled, he jirescribes that they also shall be added to the list.* He and
his wife are probably buried under King's Chapel in the De Blois
tomb (tomb No. 11), which was built and owned jointly by his
sons Gilbert and Lewis.
Children :

i. Sarah,' b. 22 Apr. 1723 ; m. at Boston 28 Apr. 1743 Willloi Wait
Waxlis, sou of Thomas and Grace (Wait), b. 14 Jan. 1721. She
had children, one of whom, Ann, d. 27 Aug. 1748, aged 4 yrs., 4
mos., and 1 day, and another, Sarah, was living in 1777.

4. ii. Gilbert, b. 15 Mar. 1725.

5. iii. Lewis, b. 9 Sept. 1727.

3. George^ De Blois (ZomzV), born at Oxford in 1710, married Eliza-

beth , who died at Oxford 17 Aug. 1780, aoed 77. He

died at Oxford in 1799. How many children he had is not known ;
but there were three who came to America, and there was also an
Elizabeth who lived at Oxford and died there unmarried.
Children, born at Oxford :

6. i. Stephen,' b. 1735.

7. ii. George, called -''.Si'.',", b,^ e'lVfarl 1739/4-6, '

iii. Mary, b. abt. .IT^; livssl at, Ne.wiXoit; R. I., with her brother
Stephen; d. unm. 11 Dec. ,1818, ag<;d 75. She is buried in Trinity
Churchyard, where^ her ii^sr^riptioa rimy still be seen.

iv. Elizabeth, lived and d. fit piforJ.'. '

4. Gilbert^ De Blois {StepkeP,,'^,''L'H%s})\ 15brn in New York 15 Mar.

1725, between five and ^Ix'o" clock' at night, was undoubtedly named
for Gilbert Burnet, the Governor's son. He married in Boston, 17
Feb. 1749, Ann Coffin, fifth child of William and Ann (Holmes),
who was born 15 Dec. 1730. Mrs. De Blois was a sister of Nathaniel
Cofiin, father of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart., and also of Eliza-
beth Coffin, wife of Thomas Amory of Boston. Survi\'ing her hus-
band, she made her will 18 June 1807, and died in Dec. 1808.

Of the apprenticeship of Gilbert De Blois nothing is known, but
in early manhood he became a successful importer of hardware and
other foreign goods, for many years advertising conspicuously in
the Boston newspajiers. In 1756 his chief place of business was at
the " Sign of the Crown and Comb," near the prison, in Queen
Street ; then for some years he had his warehouse at the head of
Green's Wharf. In 1764, however, he abandoned the latter stand
for a store at the lower end of King Street, on the south side, " ad-
joining Mr. James Apthorp's." During the smallpox epidemic in
this same year he removed j^art of his large stock of hardware,

•The will of Stephen De Blois seems to be in his own, a strong, clear, English hand-
writing,-and is signed "Stephen Dcblois," and endorsed: "The last will of me,
Stephen Deblois. Not to be open'd till after my Uuriel." It begins : " I Stephen
Deblois of Boston in the County of Suffolk and province of the Massachusetts Bay in
New England, Gentleman." He divides his silver plate among his three children.
The name of his nephew Stephen of Newport he spells as he does his own name,
"Deblois."

groceries, and liquors to Weston, where he had " a commodious shop
and store adjoining the house of M''. Josiah Smith, inn holder (on
the great road to Worcester), at the Sign of the Half-Moon, near
the Meeting House." {Post Boy and Advertiser, March 19, 1764.)
In 1773 he had a shop opposite School Street, near the late Rev.
Dr. Sewall's meeting-house. Last of all he had a shop at No. 1
Cornhill.

His latest dwelling-house was on Tremont Street, at the north
corner of Bromfield Street, the whole property having been pur-
chased by him in .Jan. 1774 from Mr. John Timmins. With its fine
garden about it, the house stood until it was burned, shortly before
Aug. 1840, the property passing then by sale to Mr. Charles H.
Eldredge. In 1865 Horticultural Hall was built on the site of the
ancient house. In the Revolution tins valuable property was con-
fiscated, but Mrs. De Blois was soon afterwards permitted to buy it
back. There this lady lived, and there her daughter, " Miss Betsey,"
also lived, probably until the house was burned.

Gilbert De Blois planted the so-called " Paddock elms " in front
of the Granary Burying-Ground, buying them from Mr. James
Smith, the wealthy sugar-baker and a warden of King's Chapel in
1722, who had imported them from England and placed them in his
nursery at Brush Hill, Milton. In return for the trees he promised
to name and did name a son for James Smith. (Letters of James
Murray, Loyalist, Boston, 1901.)

Gilbert and his brother LfAvis De RloJs,, petitioned, 15 May 1754,
for the widening, oiL^-Qu'eein (Coui:t) Sti^^et, ;l)ecause they had bought
a piece of land at the c()rner of^^Hanoyer and Queen Streets, two or
three years before, and h?.d sit'cfe'bmltr a brick house there. They
had given some of theit'ortn'lfuid- to widen Hanover Street. (Bos-
ton Records, vol. 14',,'pp".; 2>S, l26t."| . The building afterwards long
known as " Concert Hjfll '* 'wasX'or^^ieytKl, 30 Sept. 1754, by Gilbert
and Lewis De Blois, braziers, to Stephen De Blois, their father, for
£2000 lawful money. In 1769 this property was sold by Stephen
De Blois to William Turner, gentleman, for £1000 steiding, Turner
at the same time mortgaging it to De Blois. It afterwards passed
to the Amory family.* (Drake, History and Antiquities of Boston,
pp. 641, 642.) Until the Revolution Gilbert De Blois's name ap-
pears in many records of transfer of real estate in Boston.

In 1774 he was an addresser of Hutchinson and in 1775 of Gage,
being called a " shop-keeper in Cornhill." In Mar. 1776, with
a family of four, he went to Halifax with Howe's fleet, and from
there, probabl}' in May, he sailed for England with other Loyalists.
In 1778 he was proscribed and banished as an enemy of the state.
In 1779, as one of a group of expatriated Loyalists in London, he
addressed the King. Whether his wife Ann left Boston with him
for Halifax is not known, but if she did she soon returned, and

* CoBcert Hall, a writer for a newspaper has stated, " was enlarged by Mr. Amory.
The front hall, on the second story, was 60 by 30 feet; it was admired for its correct
proportions and the richness of its architecture. In 1817 it was not only the best, but
the largest, hall in Boston. The entrance was on Pemberton Hill, now Court Street.
Its basement, on Hanover Street, was occupied by Peter Brigham, oysterman, who
opened and sold fourteen oysters for fourpence, half-penny (6^ cents), that being a
Spanish coin, the only silver money of that day. From this humble occupation and
by prudence in affairs he became owner of Concert Hall, and laid the foundation of
his large fortune, the major part of which he bequeathed to the poor of Boston."

until her death she retained the oversight of her husband's business
in Boston. In 1781) Gilbert De Blois revisited Boston for tlie mar-
riage of his son Lewis witli Kuth Hooper Daltou, and also, no
doubt, to make his will, which bears date 3 June 1789, and was
proved in Boston 28 Feb. 17tt2.

He returned to England, probably in the late autumn of 1789,
and died at Peckham, a suburb of London, 27 Nov, 1791, aged 65,
He was probably buried in London, The notice of liis death in the
Gentleman's Magazine, vol. 61, part 2, p. 1161, describes him as
" Mr. Gilbert De Blois, late of Boston, New England, mercht."

He first appointed as executors of his will Oliver Smith, George
De Blois of Boston, and Mr. Lewis De Blois, his brother, of Lon-
don. But 11 Nov. 1789 he substituted for these his sons Lewis of
New Yoi'k and Stephen of Portland. In his will he mentions his
wife Ann ; his children Gilbert, William, Elizabeth, Lewis, Stephen,
and James Smith; his nephew George, ''of Boston"; aud his
brother Lewds, in London. Among his bequests were his pews in
King's Chapel and Trinity Church, The agent appointed by the
coui't, 29 Jan, 1779, to care for his estate, because of his absence in
England, was Dr. Thomas Bulfinch, the well-known physician, who
performed similar service for many other expatriated Loyalists, his
old friends and fellow-worshippers at King's Chapel.

Gilbert De Blois was long one of the most prominent supporters of
King's Chapel, his family from their first coming to Boston having
worshipped in this church. For many years, until his death, he
owned pews Nos, 20 and 72, and he owned two pews in Trinity
Church, He was a vestryman of King's Chapel from 1763 to 1776,
and a warden from 1769 to 1775, In his portrait by Copley, which
was painted in London after the Revolution, he is represented as
" sitting partly in profile, dressed in a brown coat, with a white wig.
His right hand rests upon a table before him, holding a pen, and
over his head is a crimson curtain, with sky in the background. It
is a fine specimen of Copley's latest manner." (Perkins, Works of
John Singleton Copley, p. 51.) This portrait was bequeathed to his
son Lewis, and from him it passed to Lewis's daughter Charlotte,
after whose death it w^as sold to Mrs. Augustus Thorudike Perkins,*

The baptisms of the children of Gilbert and Ann (Coffin) De
Blois, except Stephen, are recorded in the register of King's
Chapel. Ste^jhea's baptism is found in the register of Trinity
Church,
Children :

i. AXN,^ b. 17 July 1752; d. 14 Sept. 1753,
ii. Ann, b. 2 July 175-1; d. 14 Sept. 1755.

8. iii. Gllbkut, b. 20 Sept. 1755.

iv. Stkphkn, b. 15 June 1757; d. 15 June 1758.

9. V. William, b. at Mcdford, Mass., 7 Oct. 1758.
10. vi. Lewis, b. 25 May 17G0.

vii. ELIZAI5ETU, b. l(j Aug. 1761 ; d. unm. at Roxbury 27 Oct. 1843; bur.
in the family tomb in Kiug's Chapel. "Miss Betsey" De Blois
has passed into history as one of Boston's noted eighteenth-century

* A copy of this Copley portrait, made early, and other interesting portraits of
De Blois and Amory ancestors, besides a valuable painting of his uncle Thor

of his
imas
Amory De Blois, LL.D., of Portland, are in the posscssion~of Dr. Thomas Amory
De Blois of Boston. Dr. De Blois has also many letters written by members of the
De Blois family in the earlier generatious.

belles. In her youth she was Tvooecl by " the altog-etber nnex-
ceptionable " Mr. Martin Brimmer, but her mother disapproved of
the match, and just as the wedding ceremony was about to be
performed, entered the church (perhaps King's Chapel) and foT'^
bade the marriage. The town record of Boston marriages has
this significant entry : "Mr. Martin Brimmer and Mrs. Elizabeth
De Blois (forbid), July 24, 1777." In the Register, vol. 11, pp. 75,
76, the story of the tragical ending of this romantic love-match is
Interestingly told, and a letter from Benedict Arnold to Mrs.
Knox, wife of General Knox, is also given, in which, under date
of 4 Mar. 1777, Arnold incloses a missive to "the heavenly Miss
Deblois," with whom he also was evidently much in love. This
letter from Arnold to Mrs. Knox is also printed in the Register,
vol. 26, p. 201. In her grandfather's will, as we have seen, Eliza-
beth De Blois's name occurs. It was placed there, however, not
when the will was written, but in the early part of the succeeding
year, 1778. In this insertion, which is made above the originsd
line in the will, immediately after the name Elizabeth appears
the word " Reconcil'd," and we have here, no doubt, unexpected
testimony to the family's displeasure at the young lady's determi-
nation to become Mr. Brimmer's wife. When the match was
finally given up, her family became reconciled to her and she
found her proper place in her grandfather's will. Miss De Blois
inherited almost all her mother's property, including the house on
Tremont Street, and apparently lived there in " single-blessed-
ness and high respectability" until well on towards 1840, when
she removed to Roxbury. She is said to have remamed almost
to the last "a straiglat, tall, elegant woman." Her wUl, dated
27 Dec. 1830, is recorded at Dedham.

viii. Francis, b. 4 Apr. 1763 ; d. unin. in Boston 18 Mar. 1786.
11. ix. Stephen, b. 4 Apr. 1764.

X. Axx, b. 10 Aug. 1765; d. 6 Sept. 1765.

xi. John, b. 24 Dec. 1767; d. unm. in London, England, 8 Mar. 1784.

xii. James Sjhth, b. 3 Jan. 1769 ; was purser of the frigate Constitution ;
d. of fever, 29 Nov. 1803, in the harbor of Smyrna. He was
named for James Smith, sugar-baker of Boston, a warden of King's
Chapel. ( Vide supra, p. 9.)

xiii. Isaac, b. 12 June 1770; d. 28 Jan. 1771.

xiv. Ann, b. 8 Oct. 1771 ; d. 11 Oct. 1774.

XV. Ralph, b. 7 Feb. 1773; d. 14 July 1774.

xvi. Lucy Ann, b. 5 Nov. 1774 ; d. 10 Aug. 1775.

. Lewis^ De Blois {Stephen,^ Louis^), born in New York 9 Sept.
1727, became like his brother Gilbert a successful importer of and
dealer in hardware and other foreign goods in Boston. His place
of business in 1756 and 1757 was at the " Sign of the Golden Eagle "
in Dock Square, but in July 1763 it was at the foot of King Street.
He announces, 24 Oct. 1763, that he has removed his stock of goods
from King Street to his "late dwelling house on Dock Square."
He announces also, 25 Jidy 1763, that he intends to sail for Eng-
land early in tlie next spring, and he wishes all persons indebted
to him to settle their accounts. At this time he advertises for sale
"a curious toned harpsicord just imported from London," which
" is esteemed the master piece of the famous Falconer." He also
advertises for church use an organ made by Mr. Thomas Johnston
of Boston, formerly used in the Concert Hall. He calls for lumber,
codfish, and mackerel. In 1774, when he becomes a "protester
and addresser," he is called " Shopkeeper" in Dock Square.
{Mass. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, Vol. 11, p. 392.) In Mar. 1776,
with a family of two, he went with Howe's fleet to Halifax, from
there, very likely in May, sailing with his brother Gilbert and other

Loyalists for Enoland. (Mass. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, vol. 18, p.
266.) With his brother he was proscribed and banished in 1778.
He was a vestryman of King's Chapel from 1763 to 1776. In
1754 he exchanged his pew, No. 68, in the church with Samuel
Withered for pew No. 66.

Lewis De Blois married first, in Boston, 4 Sept. 1748 (Rev.
Timothy Cutler, D.D., officiating), Elizabeth Jknkins, daughter
of Robert and Elizabeth (Goddard), who was born 16 Aug. 1730
and died 16 or 17 June 1767. He married secondly, 25 Dec. 1770,
Elizabeth Debuke, who died in England 23 Nov. 1799, aged 74.
He died in England 9 Feb. 1799, and in the Gentleman'' s Magazine,
vol. 69, part 1, p. 173, appeared the following notice : " Very sud-
denly at his apartments in Holborn, after being out on that day,
Mr, Lewis Deblois, late merchant in Boston, North America." He
was probably buried in London. Administration of his estate was
granted in Boston, 9 Sept. 1800, to his eldest son George.

Children by first wife :

12. i. Geokge,* called "Jr.," b. 27 Oct. 1750.

ii. Sabah, b. 29 Dec. 1753; m. 25 Dec. 1771, m Kmg's Chapel Parish,
her father's first cousin, George' De Elo:?, callal "• Sr.," b. at
Oxford 6 Mar. 1739/40, founder of the Halifax, Nova Scotia,
branch of the family. ( Vide infra, 7.)

13. ill. Lew^is, b. 10 Apr. 1762.

iv. Gilbert, b. 20 Dec. 1763; d. at Providence, E. I., June 1785, prob-
ably without issue.

. Stephen' De Blois, Jr. {George,"^ Louis^), born at Oxford in 1735,
came, it is said, in a warship to Newport, R. I., at the age of thir-
teen, and decided, like his brother George, to make New England
his home. On the earliest stages of his business cai'eer no light is
thrown ; but in Sept. 1757 " Wickham and De Blois "* advertise in
the Boston Gazette, at the " Sign of the Golden Eagle, opposite to
Dr. Tweedy's," and at their store '' opposite to Col. Malbone's brick
house," a large stock of hardware, India goods, etc. In May 1763
Stephen De Blois, Jr., advertises a similar, though larger stock at
his shop at the " Sign of the Golden Eagle," Dock Square, Boston,
George De Blois, his brother, also announcing in the same adver-
tisement a mixed stock of hardware, spices, silks, threads, canvas,
hour-glasses, coffee-mills, etc., at his shop in Salem. ( Bosion Gazette,
May 9, 1763.) It will thus be seen that Stephen, Jr.'s, place of
business in Boston at this time was the same as that of his cousin
Lewis, but what business connection there was between the two
does not appear. In the News Letter of February 23 and March 15,
1764, Stephen, Jr., informs the public that he has opened a store
in Dedham, at the house of Dr. Nathaniel Ames (the almanac-
maker), where he has a large stock of hardware. He will take in
exchange for new goods old pewter and brass. This temporary
removal, like that of his cousin Gilbert to Weston at the same
time, was made necessary by the epidemic of smallpox raging in
Boston. How soon after this Stephen, Jr., removed permanently
to Newport, R. I., is not known, but the Biographical Cyclopedia
of R. L, part 1, p. 114, says that in Newport he was first an im-
porter of hardware, then a shipping merchant and ship-owner, al-
together one of the most considerable merchants in the town,

» The name of this Newport firm was later '* De Blois and Wickham."

8

In the Eevolution he was a Tory, and for a while he left New-
port for New York ; but he resettled there in Aug. 1784, and in
171)0 his household is described as consisting of one male over 16,
two males under 16, six white females, and two slaves. His
dwelling-house was on Thames Street, " opposite the old Ruggles
house,"' and there he died, 15 Feb. 1805, in his 70th year. He was
a vestryman of Trinity Parish, Newport, and is buried in Trinity
Churchyard. The inscription on his tombstone calls him a "re-
spectable citizen and merchant of Newport," and the Biographical
Cyclopedia says that he was generous, enterprising, public-spirited,
and foremost in every movement for the prosperity and welfare of
the town.

He married first,* at Newport, 9 Dec. 1767, Rebecca Wick-
ham; and secondly, 15 Mar. 1779, Jane or Jenny Brown, who
died 8 July 1829, aged 78, and whose inscription may be read in
Trinity Churchyard.

Child by first wife :
i. George,* b^pt. 12 Aug. 1770 in Trinity Parish, Newport.

Children by second wife :

ii. Ann, m. Capt. Eobekt Robinson of Newport.

iii. Stephen, m. Sarah Ellis Dean.

iv. Elizabeth, b. 15 Oct. 1786: m. Timothy Pearce.

V. Eebecca, bapt. Jan. 1788, when 3 months old ; m. David Thatcher.

vi. John, bapt. 2 Dec. 1790; m. Sarah Cookson Scott.

vii. Jane, bapt. 16 Mar. 1797 ; d. unm. at Newport abt. 1878.

7. George^ De Blois {George,"^ Louis'^), called " Sr.," born at Oxford
6 Mar. 1739/40, reached Boston, Mass., in Jan. 1761, and on Christ-
mas Day, 1771, being then of Salem, married, in King's Chapel
Parish, Sarah* De Blois, daughter of Lewis,^ his first cousin, and
Elizabeth (.Jenkins). Sarah De Blois was born in Boston 29 Dec.
1753. ( Vide supra, 5.)

George De Blois lived at Salem, but seems to have had business
connections with his relatives Gilbert, Lewis, and Stephen De Blois,
and was in business with George De Blois, Jr. Like his cousins
in Boston he was an ardent Tory, and in 1774 signed addresses to
Hutchinson and Gage. In Apr. 1775 he was obliged to flee from
Salem, leaving behind him property valued at £438. 11. b\, of
which, however, he recovered a good deal. {Essex Institute Histor-
ical Collections, vol. 43, p. 302.) When he saw that it was necessary
to leave Salem, he first planned to go to Boston, but this plan he
found impracticable, and he therefore embarked for Halifax, 29 Apr.
1775, in the brig Minerva, with his own family, a Mrs. Cottnam and
her family. Dr. -John Prince, and Mr. James Grant. He left Hali-
fax, 14 June 1777, in the transport Catherine, for New York, where
he staid for three years, until 28 July 1781, when he left New York
harbor on the Britannic for Halifax, sailing 1 Aug. from Sandy
Hook. He reached Halifax again 14 Aug. 1781, and establishing
a commission business lived there, perhaps without again visiting
the United States, until 1799. In the latter year, in very poor
health, and accompanied by his daughter Sarah, he left Halifax,
4 May, in the schooner Mary for Boston. After eight days he

* This is believed to have been his first marriage.

9

reached Boston, and from there went to Newport, R. I. In Newport
his illness increased, and he died, 18 June 1799, probably at his
brother's house. In the churchyard of Trinity Church is a tomb-
stone, on which is the following inscription :

" Sacred to the memory of George De Blois, Esq., a reputable
merchant of Halifax, Nova Scotia, who departed this life the IS^**
of June, 1799, in the 59'*^ year of his age ; and of his sister, Mary
De Blois, died December 11, 1818, aged 75 years."

On th« 8th of May, 1802, a little less than three years after her
husband's death, Mrs. George De Blois sailed from Halifax in the
schooner Mary with her sons Stephen Wastie and William Minet
and her daughters Lydia and Ann Maria, to make her home once
more in Massachusetts. The next month the sons returned to Hali-
fax, but the mother and daughters remained at Dedham. At Hali-
fax the sons continued their father's business in the name of their
mother, Sarah De Blois. It is not known in what year Mrs. De
Blois herself returned to Halifax ; but she died tliere at the house
of her son Stephen "Wastie, 25 Dec. 1827, " aged 74."

Children :
i. Elizabeth," b. 20 Nov. 1772; bapt. in St. Peter's Parish, Salem.
Stephen'^ De Blois of Boston records in bis family Bible : " My
grand-daughter Sarah was delivered of a daughter, November 20,
1772." Elizabeth De Blois m. at the house of her sister Sarah
Boggs in Halifax, 16 Sept. 1802, Lieut. William Despakd, bach-
elor, of the 7th Regt., Royal Fusiliers, nephew of Lieut. -Gen.
Despard. Children: \. Harriet Murray. 2. P/u7;>, a captain in
the army. 3. Letitia. 4. George Packenham., a clergyman of the
English Church.
ii. Sarah, b. at Salem 18 Aug. 1774; m. at Halifax 3 Sept. 1800, by
Rev. Robert Stanser, afterwards Bishop of Nova Scotia, to Thom-
as BoGGS, son of Dr. James and Mary (Morris), b. 1771. Chil-
dren: 1. James George. 2. AnnAnsell. 3. Sarah. 4. Thomas.
5. Fanny. 6. Henry. 7. George. 8. Stephen. 9. Boxoman. 10.
Kate. 11. Edwin., d. yoimg.
ill. Mary, b. at Halifax 20 June 1776 ; bapt. in St. Paul's Parish by Rev.

Dr. John Breynton.
iv. Rebecca, b. in New York 5 Mar. 1778 ; bapt. there 7 Apr. following
by Rev. William Walter, D.D. ; m. May 1811 Rev. John Bart-
LETT, a graduate of Harvard, pastor of the Second Congregational
(Unitarian) Parish, Marblehead, Mass., from 1811 to 1841); d. 24
Dec. 1858. Children: 1. John Stephen. 2. Sarah Lydia. 3.
Samuel William. 4. George Edward. 5. Mary Susan. 6. Lewis
De Blois.

14. V. Stephen Wastie, b. in New York 16 Jan. 1780.

15. vi. George Lewis, b. at Halifax 17 June 1782.

vli. Lydia Harriet (or Harriot), b. at Halifax 19 June 1784; m. at
Dedham, Mass., 25 Nov. 1805, Rev. James Flint, D.D., b. at North
Reading, Mass., 10 Dec. 1779, d. at Salem 4 Mar. 1855. Dr. Flint
was graduated at Harvard in 1802, and settled first at East Bridge-
water, Mass. He then became pastor of the East Church (Uni-
tarian) of Salem. Children: 1. Sarah Ann. 2. Fi-ances Maria.
3. Amelia Grant. 4. James. 5. William De Blois. G. Elizabeth
Despard. 7. Henry Elkins. 8. George Herbert. 9. Caroline Dan-
forth.

viii. Ann Marlv (or Mary Ann), b. at Halifax 19 or 20 July 1787 ; bapt.
bv Rev. Joshua Wingate AVeeks; d. unm. at Dedham, Mass., 30
Oct. 1802, in her 16tli vear.

ix. Francis Edwin, b. 25 Oct. 1789 ; bapt. by Rev. Joshua Wingate
Weeks; d. 27 July 1790.

16. X. WiLLiA>i MiNET, b. 7 or 10 Nov. 1795.

656010

10

8. Gilbert* ( Gilbert,^ Stephen,^ Louis'^), born 20 Sept. 1755, married

an English wife, whose name we do not know. In the Revolution
he symjiathized with the American cause, and thus incurred his
father's severe displeasure. He died probably 12 Nov. 1803.
Child :

17. i. Francis Gilbert,* b. abt. 1781.

9. William* De Blois {Gilbert,^ Stephen,- Louis'^), born at Medford,

Mass., 7 Oct. 1758, and baptized in King's Chapel 20 Oct. 1758,
married, 11 Sept. 1785, Sarah Williams, who was born at Salem,
Mass.

A merchant in Boston, he was also captain of a ship, and about
1796 was seized by the French and taken to Bordeaux. In 1789
he was in Georgia. In 1786-87, in 1796-97, and possibly between
1788 and 1796, he was a vestryman of King's Chapel. In 1785
he owned pew No. 55 in the Chapel ; and in the same year j^ew No. 9,
which as early as 1754 had been acquired by Samuel Wentworth,
father of Lady Frances Wentworth, was sold to him by the wardens.

He died in London, and administration on the estate of " Wil-
liam De Blois, mariner," was granted in Boston, 26 Jan. 1807, to
Thomas Appleton, trader.

Children :

18. i. Gilbert,* b. 24 June 1786.

ii. Sally Williams, b. 12 May 1788; bapt. in Kmg's Chapel 9 Nov.
1788 ; m. 28 Sept. 1809, by Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner,
D.D., to JoHX Cl.\rk Brown, sou of Josiah and Susanna
('Clark),b. 19 Dec. 1781. ChUdreu: 1. John De Blois, b. 1813.
2. Sarah, b. 1819. .3. Susanna Elizabeth, b. 13 May 1820. 4.
Augusta Magee, b. 13 July 1822. 5. Hannah Louisa, b. Feb. 1826.
iii. Charles Jarvis, bapt. m King's Chapel 12 Aug. 1792 ; d. young,
iv. Augusta, bapt. 18 Aug. 1795. •'!;|^?.' k-n '^ ^ .,'>

V. Augusta Smith, bapt. 8 Nov. 1796; m. jAMfig Magee.~"'"'- ji 'Vt'' ■
vi. Thomas MEL\aLLE, b. 1800; d. num. at Salem 25 Feb. 1892, ag6d
92. He lived first at Halifax, N. S., where he was clerk to Stephen
"Wastie De Blois (Bowie and De Blois) , and afterwards at Bath-
urst, Richibucto, and St. John, N. B.
vii. Caroline Louisa, bapt. at Charlestown, Mass., 27 Oct. 1805 (record
at King's Chapel) ; m. (1) Charles Church Chandler Tucker ;
m. (2)^25 Aug. 1842 Asahel Huntington, Esq., of Salem, for
whom see Essex Inst. Hist. Coll., vols. 11, pp. 81-114, and 15, p.
295 ; d. at Salem 17 Aug. 1888, aged 82. Children by second hus-
band : 1. William De Blois, b. 15 Aug. 1843 ; d. at Manila Mar.
1868. 2. Sarah Louisa, b. 23 July 1845. 3. Arthur Lord, b. 23
July 1848; d. 19 Oct. 1902.

10. Levtis* De Blois {Gilbert,^ Stephen,'^ Louis'^), horn 25 May 1760,
married, 21 July 1789, Ruth Hooper Dalton, daughter of Hon.
Tristram and Ruth (Hooper) of Newburyport, Mass., who was born
17 May 1767. He was living in New York 11 Nov. 1789, as his
father's will shows. He was a purser in the U. S. Navy in the
War of 1812, was afterwards stationed as purser at the Charlestown
navy-yard, whither he was ordered 18 May 1815, and was subse-
quently Portuguese consul at Boston. He died in Boston 24 Mar.
1833, and was buried in the De Blois tomb.
Children :

i. Mary Ann,* b. 1790 ; d. unm.

ii. Charlotte, b. abt. 1791 ; d. unm. at Boston 24 July 1881, aged 90.

11

iii. Elizabeth, b. at Philadelphia, 1792 ; d. nnm. at Boston 4 May 1849,

aged 5G. Her will, datetl c, Apr. 1849, inentious her brother Dal-

tou and her sisters Matilda and Charlotte,
iv. John, d. nnm.
V. Matilda D., b. at Georgetown, D. C, abt. 1798 ; d. uum. at Boston

6 Aug. 1863, aged 65.
vi. Daltox, b. abt. 1800; d. nnm. at Boston 11 Apr. 1854, aged 54.

Administration of his estate was granted to his sister Matilda,

29 May 1854.

11. Stephen^ De Blots (Gilbert,^ Stephen,'^ LoiuV), born in Boston

4 Apr. 1764, married, 25 vSept. 1792 (Rev. Samuel Parker offici-
ating), his first cousin, Elizabeth Amory, daughter of Thomas
and Elizabeth (Coffin), who was born 26 July 1768 and died 21
Oct. 1850. He died at the United States Hotel, Boston, where he
had long made his home, 3 June 1850.

He went to Portland, Me., soon after the conclusion of peace
with Great Britain, in 1783, opened a store at the corner of Ex-
change and Middle Streets, Portland, and in 1788 purchased that
property of Dea. Richard Codman. In his father's will, dated 11
Nov. 1789, he is mentioned as living at Portland. Two years after
his marriage he returned to Boston to reside. (Register, vol. 10,
p. 63, and vol. 22, p. 199.)

Children :
i. Stephen,* Jr., b. abt. 1793; d. at Boston 21 July 1817, aged 24;

bur. in the De Blois tomb. He had been long at Savannah, Ga.
ii. Thomas Amoky, b. at Boston Dec. 1794; bapt. in Trinity Parish,
Boston, 4 Jan. 1795; m. Dorcas Deering, daughter of James of
Portland, Me. ; d. at Portland, Me., 14 Sept. 1867, without issue,
aged 72 years, 9 months. His wife survived hhn. He was gradu-
ated at Harvard College in 1813, and practised law at Portland,
Me. During the administrations of Presidents Taylor and Fill-
more he was U. S. district attorney for Maine, and in 1857 repre-
sented Portland in the legislature. Bowdoin College conferred
on him in 1867 the degree of LL.D. (See biographical sketch in
Register, vol. 22, p. 199.)
19. iii. John Amory, b. in Boston in 1797.

iv. Eliz.ujeth Amory, bapt. 12 Aug. 1799 ; d. 1876.

V. Catharine Codman, bapt. 25 June 1801 ; d. young.

vi. Mary Newell, b. 1804; d. 1876.

vii. Nathaniel James, bapt. 18 May 1806 ; m. abt. 1845 Mrs. Ang£lique

L. V. (RoussE) HuRD ; d. s.p. at Boston 13 Aug. 1858, aged 52.
viii. Edward A., bapt. 2 Aug. 1808; d. at New Orleans in 1832.

12. George'* De Blois (Letvi's,^ Stephen,^ Lout s^), called "Jr.," born

27 Oct. 1750, married first, in Boston, 10 Oct. 1773, Catharine
Laughton, who died at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 21 Apr. 1776, aged
24;* secondly, in New York City, 11 Aug. 1777, Lydia Scott;
and thirdly, 22 June 1809, Mrs. Ruth (Hooper) Jenkins
of Newburyport, Mass., widow of Lewis Jenkins. He died in
Boston, 6 Sept. 1819, aged 69, and was buried in the De Blois
tomb in King's Chapel. In pursuance of the widow's petition in
1819, administration of the estate of George De Blois was granted
to George Lewis* De Blois, son of George,* a nephew and second
cousin of the deceased, and the widow herself was appointed, 8
Nov. 1819, guardian of her two children.

*In the register of St. Paul's Parish, Halifax, where this record is found, there is
also recorded the burial, 23 Apr. 1776, of a Charlotte De Blois, the name Charlotte
being here undoubtedly an error for Catharine.

12

At the time of his first marriasre George De Blois was livinff at
Kewljuryport. In a memorial to the British Government, claiming
recompense for losses he had sustained in the Revolution, he says
that at the beginning of the war he was settled in Newburyport,
Mass., but that in April, 1775, he embarked with his family for the
River St. John. When his uncle Gilbert's will was made he was
prol)ably living in Boston.

Children, by third wife :

i. George,* b. 30 Dec. 1810; bapt. in Trinity Parish, Boston, 25 Apr.
1811.

ii. Eliz.ujeth Jenkins, b. 20 Nov. 1811 ; bapt. in Trinity Parish, Bos-
ton, 2 Feb. 1812.

13. Leavis^ De Blois, Jr. {Lewis,^ Stephen,"^ Louis^), born in Boston,

10 Apr. 1762, and baptized in King's Chapel, is said to have been
in 1777 in the employ of Stephen De Blois of Newport, R. I. He
married, but his wife's name is unknown. In his American Loyal-
ists Sabine confuses Lewis, Jr., with his father Lewis ; but Sabine's
statement that after the peace Lewis was a merchant in St. John,
N. B., and in 1795 a member of the Loyal Artillery there, prop-
erly refers to Lewis, Jr., and is undoubtedly true. He died at
St. John, 9 Oct. 1801, "aged 39."
Children :

i. Maky,^ d. unra.

ii. Elizabeth Cranston, m. at St. John, N. B., James White, Esq.,

Sheriff of tlie County of St. Jolm.
iii. Thoma-s L., a sea-captain, lost at sea; no cliildren.
iv. George, mate with his brother Thomas L. ; d. in Jamaica, W. I.

14. Stephen Wastie^ De Blois {George,^ Sr., George,"^ Louis^) born in

New York, 16 .Jan. 1780, and baptized there 13 Feb. following

by Rev. William Walter, D.D., married Jane Catharine ,

who died 17 June 1854, aged 52.

He was a prominent merchant at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was
at first attached to St. Paul's Parish. In the defection from that
parish, 1824-1826, however, he withdrew, and connected himself
with St. George's ; and on the south wall of St. George's Church,
the " Round Church," there is a tablet to his memory.

He died 26 Dec. 1848, and is buried in St. George's Church plot
in Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax, where his wife and other members
of the family also lie. In his will, dated 18 Apr. 1844, he mentions
his wife, his two sons, his daughter Sarah Wastie, then under 21,
and his nephew, Rev. George Packenham Despard.

Children :

20. i. George Wastie*.

ii. Sa^muel Wa.stie, barrister, b. probably in 1827 ; d. unm. at Halifax

23 Mar. 1870, aged 43.
iii. Sarah Wastie, m. Albert Hensley, Esq., of Cliarlottetown, P.E.I. ,

and has issue.

15. George Lewis^ De Blois ( George,^ Sr., George,"^ Louis'^), born at

Halifax 17 June 1782, and baptized by Rev. John Breynton, D.D.,
removed in early life to Boston, where he became a well-known
shipping merchant, connected successively with the firms of Cool-
idge, De Blois and Co., George L. De Blois and Co., and Skinner
and De Blois.

13

He married in Boston Amelia Grant, daughter of Moses of
Boston, who was born 2 Mar. 1792, and died 20 Aug. 1867. He
died 22 or 23 Oct. 1837, and is buried in the family tomb in King's
Chapel. The guardianship of her three youngest children was
granted, 21 Mar. 1842, to Amelia De Blois.

Children :
i. Steimikn Grant, ^ b. in Boston 1 Aug. 1816; m. 29 Oct. 1850 Amelia
D. Grant, dau. of Samuel of Philadelphia, Ta., formerly of Bos-
ton; d. without issue 5 Apr. 1888. For many years he was a
prominent member of Trinity Church, Boston. (See IIegister,
vol. 44, pp. 324-325.)
21. ii. GKOHGt: Lewis, Jr., b. in Boston 6 Jan. 1822.
iii. Elizabeth, m. Frederick Bush of Boston.
iv. Sarah Ann, m. James Bush of Boston.

V. Anne E., m. (1) Capt. Nye; m. (2) 22 July 1858 Alexander Per-
ceval, Esq., of Temple House, co. Sligo, Ireland, barrister, b. 25
June 1821, third son of Alexander Perceval. Esq., of Temple
House, J. P., Lieut. -Col. of the Sligo militia, Sergeant-at-.\rms to
the House of Lords, and his wife Jane Anne (L'Estrange). (See
Burke's Landed Gentry.)
vi. Fr.incis Edward, drowned in Ipswich Bay.

6. William Minet* De Blois {George,^ Sr., George,^ Lout's^), horn at
Halifax 7 or 10 Nov. 1795, and baptized by Rev. Robert Stanser,
D.D., married Jane Vekmilye Pryor, daughter of John and
Sarah (Stevens), who was baptized at Halifax 19 Jan. 1802. He
died 27 Dec. 1837 ; and his widow was married, secondly, to George
W. Daniel, and lived in Nevis, British AVest Indies.
Children :

i. Edward Pryor, ^ a merchant at Halifax.

ii. Sarah Jane, m. 17 Sept. 1846 Lord William Kennedy, then Captain
R. A., b. 30 Nov. 1823, d. 5 Mar. 1868, sixth child of Arciiil)ald,
Earl of Cassilis, grandson of Archibald, twelfth Earl of Cassilis
and first Marquis of Ailsa, and younger brother of Archibald,
second Marquis of Ailsa; d. 5 Feb. 1875. Children: 1. JIary
Osioald. 2. IVilliam. 3. Mab?A Esme.

iii. Emma Sophia, m. Capt Ciiaules Austen, R. N., sou of Admiral Sir
Charles Austen, R. N., and nephew of Miss Jaue Austen, the
novelist.

iv. Rev. Stephen "William, D.D., b. at Halifax 4 Aug. 1827; bapt. in
St. Paul's Parish by Rev. Edward Wix, Bishop's Chaplain; grad-
uated at Acadia College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia; m. at Wolfville,
14 Feb. 1855. Mary Sophia Fitch, dau. of Simon, Jr., and Sophia
Henrietta (UeWolf), b. 24 June 1827. Children: \. Henrietta
tiuphia, b. 29 Dee. 1855 ; d. 29 Aug. 1859. 2. liev. Austen Kennedy^
Ph.D., LL.D., now of Boston, Mass., who m. Erminie Dagmar
Day, and has children. (Eaton's History of King's Co., Nova
Sc<>tia, pp. 487, 625.)

V. Jane Vek.milye, b. 19 July 1829 ; d. num. at Pljmouth, England,
probably in 1903.

vi. Rev. Henry Despard, M.A., D.C.L., a clergyman of the Church of
England in Nova Scotia and rural dean, b. at Halifax 13 Oct.
1831; bapt. in St. Paul's Parish; graduated at King's College,
Windsor, N. S. ; d. at .\nnapolis Royal 6 June 1911. He m. (1)
Eleanor Esmond Spurr, dau. of Thomas and Charlotte (Van
Buskirk) ; m. (2) 4 Feb. 1891 Margaret Mary' McLaciilan of
Lunenburg, N. S. Children by first wife: 1. Henry, m. in Cen-
tral America a lady of Spanish origin, and has three eliildreu. 2.
William Minet, m. Bessie Ritchie, dau. of Rev. James .1. of .Vima-
polis Royal, and has three children. 3. Frederic, living in Central
America, probably unm. 4. Emily Charlotte, m. Charles McCor-
mick, merchant, of Annapolis Royal.

14

vil. WiLLLvji MiNET, Jr., solicitor.

viii. Fredkkick Charles, b. 5 May 1838 ; d. young.

ix. Louis George, M.D., a well-knowu physician of Bridgetown, N. S.,

m. 25 June 1863 Armanilla Wu^lett of Granville, N. S., dau. of

Walter and Rebecca (Gilliatt). Children: 1. Louis William. 2.

£Ua Jane, m. (1) Hastings Freeman of Shelburne, N. S. ; m. (2)

Harry V. Barrett of Boston, Mass.

17. Francis Gilbert® ( Gilbert,* Jr., Gilbert,^ Stephen,- Louis^), born

about 1781, was baptized in Trinity Parish, Boston, as an adult, 24
Feb. 1808, George De Blois and his Avife acting as sponsors.

He married Millicent M. , who died in Boston, 25 Nov.

1834 or 1835, aged 46, and was buried in the family tomb in King's
Chapel, administration on her estate being granted to Thomas W.
Phillips, 28 Aug. 1837. He died in Boston, 18 Apr. 1831, aged
50, and was buried also in the tomb in King's Chapel. He and his
wife Millicent were witnesses to the will of his grandmother, Ann
De Blois.

The guardianship of their daughter Millicent De Blois (her mid-
dle name being either Alicia or Cecilia), aged about seventeen, was
granted, 30 Oct. 1837, to George W. Phillips of Boston. After the
death of their parents the younger children were much under the
care of their great-aunt. Miss Elizabeth De Blois.

Children :

i. Gilbert Francis,^ bapt. in Trinity Parish 29 June 1809 ; d. young.

li. Ann, d. unm.

iii. Elizabeth, d. unm.

iv. Margaretta Mary, m. in Trinity Parish 9 June 1836, by Bishop

Griswold, to Capt. Philip Dumaresq, and had eight children.

(Register, vol. 17, p. 319 ; and Pickering Genealogy, p. 844.)
V. Millicent Alicia (or Cecilia), b. abt. 1820; d. unm.
vi. Francis Gilbert, b. 1822 ; d. 23 Dec. 1822, aged 11 mos.
vii. John, d. young.

18. Gilbert^ De Blois ( William,'^ Gilbet't,^ Stephen,^ Louis'^), born 24

June 1786, married Caroline Annie , who was baptized

in King's Chapel Parish, with her two elder sons, 26 June 1812.
He died in Boston 9 Sept. 1820.
Children :

22. i. John Brown,« b. 1810.

ii. William Lewis, bapt. in King's Chapel 26 June 1812 ; lived in Maine,

where he m. and had issue,
ill. Augusta.
iv. Henry G., probably lived and d. unm. in Westchester Co., N. Y.

19. John Amort^ De Blois {Stephen,'^ Gilbert,^ Stephen,"^ Louis^), born in

Boston in 1797, and baptized in Trinity Parish 21 Sept. 1797, was
graduated at Harvard in 1816. He married Ejiilt Jane Rousse,
daughter of Jean Claude and Anne (Onfre), who was born in Vir-
ginia 21 Nov. 1822 and died in Boston 2 Feb. 1907. He died at
Columbus, Ga., 30 May 1855, and administration of his estate was
granted to Edward A. Dexter of Boston, 22 Oct. 1855.*

*The Columbus Enqtdrer of b June 1855 contains the following: "This sudden
death of one of our leading merchants fills our entire community with profound sor-
row. In all the relations of life Mr. John A. De Blois was a model man ; he was one
of the pillars of the Episcopal Church. He was a native of Boston, but has resided
in this city since 1837, aiad has been actively engaged in the commission business ai
a member of the firm of Hall and De Blois, a firm which has contributed much to the
prosperity of the city of Columbus bj' its extensive business relations with Northern
manufacturers. Honest and upright in his business relations, social in his intercourse
with his fellows, a model husband, father and citizen, he dies without leaving an
enemy behind him, and his loss is deplored by the community as a public calamity."

15

Chilflren :

i. Thomas Amory," M.D., a well-known physician of Boston, b. 27 Jan.
1848 ; graduated at the U. S. Naval Academy and was for 18 years
in the Navy; graduated later in medicine at Dartmouth in 1877
and at the University of New York in 1878 ; m. Louisa DouixxnEA
Anderson, dau. of Charles E. of New York. Children: 1. Eliza-
beth Amor y. 2. Lewis Amory, S.B. (Harvard), 18'jy.

11. John Edward, b. 18.50; d. at Manila, 1875.

HI. Nathaniel Jajies, b. 1853; d. at Newport, R. I., 1900. He was of
the flrin of De Blois and Eldridge, Newport.

20. George "Wastie^ (Stephen Wastie,* George,' Sr., George,^ Louis^),

married, probably at Charlottetown, P. E. I., Sarah Frances
Haviland.
Children :

I. Alice R.,' m. George Peate.

II. Robert Fitzgerald, m. DesBrisay.

iii. Ada Maria.

iv. George Walter.

V. Lotns Heath.

vi. Bessie (twin), b. abt. 1857; d. young.

Til. Frances (twin) , b. abt. 1857 ; d. 25 Feb. 1883, " in her 26* year " ; bur.

at Halifax,
viil. I\-athleen Beatrice.
ix. Laura, d. unm.

X. George Dundes, killed by an accident at sea.
xi. Mary Peters, d. unm.

21. George Lewis,' Jr. (George Lewis,* George,^ Sr., George,^ Louis^),

born 6 .Jan. 1822, mai'ried Amanda Malvina Fuller, and died
23 Jan. 1890.
Children :

i. Jeannie,« m. (1) James R. Page; m. (2) Samuel S. C. Williams.

ii. Harriet S>nTH, m. Edwin Augustus Boardman.

iii. George Lewis, 3d, b. 17 Aug. 1867; graduated at Harvard in 1889 ;
m. Mary Brooks, dau. of John F., Esq. ; is of the firm of Bur-
roughs and De Blois of Boston; lias a dau. Elizabeth.

22. John Brown^ De Blois (Gilbert,^ William,* Gilbert,^ Stephen,^

Louis^), born at Bath, Me., in 1810, and baptized in King's Chapel
26 June 1812, married, 10 June 1838, Lydia Fillebrown, who
died 27 Nov. 1882, aged 76 years and 2 months. He died in Boston
17 Mar. 1887, aged 76 years, 6 months, and 15 days.
Children :

i. John G.,^ b. 20 Mar. 1839; d. 28 Oct. 1857.

ii. George, b. 25 Oct. 1840; d. 17 Apr. 1843.

iii. Augusta Elizaheth, b. at Cambridge, Mass., 23 Mar. 1843; d. at

Boston 5 Nov. 1864.
iv. Charles Thomas, b. 29 May 1844 ; lives in Boston, unm.

An Isaac De Blois, Sabine says, " was in the service of the King, and a
lieutenant. In 1784 a lot in the city of St. John, New Brunswick, was
granted him by the Crown." He was probably another member of the
Oxford, England, family, of whom we have no further knowledge. Nor
have vfQ any further knowledge of Elenor Deblois or Dublois, married,
according to Boston records, 9 Sept. 1787 to Jonathan Bellows, or Violet
Deblois, married 4 June 1789 to Prince Hunter.

Reprinted from the

New England Historical assd Genealogical Registeb

for January, 1913

1913]

Notes 185

John Rathbun, who came, without doubt, from Lancashire, England, and pro-
bably settled at Dorchester, Mass.. whence he removed to Block Island with the
first' settlers in 1601. Samuel Ratlibun, tlie owner of the Bible, resided both at
Newport and at Blocl^ Island. He was a man of prominence, and married
Patience, daughter of Deputy-Governor John Coggeshall of Newport.

I was born August 3 l(i72— 2 day of the week

Patience my wife was boni 13-1G70

We w^ere married Nov. 3 1692 5 day of week

My son Tliomas was born May 3-109.5

My daughter Patience was born Aug. 21-1697

My daughter Mary was born Sept. 11-1700

My daughter Wait was born Dec. 30-1702

My son Samuel was born Apr. 4-1705

My son James was born Apr. 10-1707

My son Abraham was born Nov. 23-1709

My daughter Rebekah was born Jan. 9-1713

I Samuel Kathbun at my death Doe Leaue this Bible to my son Samuel Rath-
bun & at his death to his son Walter Rathbun. I have writ this with my
own hand Sept. 4 1743 Samuel Rathbun

John Dodge of Westerly departed this life May 18-1772 in the 88 year of his
age.

Bettey the wife of said John Dodge departed this life in Jan. 1767 being 80
years and 12 days old.

Patience Rathbun departed this life the 3''<' day of Aug. 1747 in the 78 year oif
her age and Samuel Rathbun her husband departed this life Jan. 24-1757 in
the 85 "> year of his age.

Samuel Rathbuu was married to Elizabeth Dodge Mar. 15 1732.

My gi'andson Abraham Rathbun was born Feb. 22. 1757 and departed this life
Mar. 29-1761 being 4 years-l mo. & 7 days old & the above Samuel Rathbun
departed this life Jan. 27-1780 in the 75 year of his age.

Samuel Rathbun son of Samuel & Patience was bom Apr. 16-1705.

My wife Elizabeth was born Dec. 18-1714

My son Walter b. June 16-1734 on the b^'^ day of the week about 9 in the
morning.

My son Samuel b. July 10-1736 on the last day of the week about 5 In the
morning.

My son Elijah was b. May 28-1740 on the fourth day of the week between 4 &
5 in the morning.

My daughter Bettey was born Dec. 2-1742 on the 5'*' day of the week about 2
in the afternoon.

The above said Samuel Rathbun departed this life Jan. 24 1780 in the 75 year
of his age.

The above said Elizabeth Rathbun departed this life Aug 8-1793 in the
79"^ year of her age.

Hannaii Kathbun wife of Walter Rathbun departed this life March 16-1807 in
the 79*h year of her age

Walter Rathbun was born June IG-A.D. 1734

My wife Hannah was born May 7-1728 and we were married March 4-1756

My son Abraham was born Eeb. 22-1757 who departed this life Mar 29-1761
aged four years one month and seven days.

My daughter Lydia was born Nov. 29-1758 who departed this life April 25,
1780 aged 22 years-seven months lacking 4 days.

My daughter Tamar wa.s born Feb. 14-1701 [? 1760]

My daughter Hannah was bom Dec. 22 1764

My son Ezra was born xVpril 29-1767 who departed this life about seven weeks
of age.

My son James and daughter Catherine was bom May 13, 1768

The above said Hannah Rathbun wife of Walter Rathbun who departed this
life Mar 10-1807 in the 79'i» year of her age. The above said Walter Rath-
bun departed this life Jan. 14-1818 in the 84 year of his age.

The above Tamar Rathbun departed this life Oct. 25-1809 in the 49''' year of
her age.

Hannah Rathbun above died July 2-1813 in the 49 year of her age.

The above Catherme departed this life Aug. 22, 1824 in the i>Q year of her age

186 JSTotes [April

Daniel Mott husband of the above said Catherine departed this life March 4-

1865 in the 91 year of his age.
Waty R. Mott was b. Sept. 8-1796 and on the fifth day of the week.
Walter R. Mott was born Oct. 2-1800 on the fifth day of the weelc.
Abraham R. Mott was born April 27-1800 on the first day of the week.
Lodowick ;Mott Junior & Waty R. Mott was m. Feb. 15-181.5.
Our Daughter Catherine R. Mott was born Dec. 3-1819 on the sixth day of the

week.
Walter R. Mott b. Oct. 2-1800 m Jan. 12-1826 Phebe D. Mott. Phebe D. Mott

born March 15-1807.
Daughter Caty R. Mott bom Oct. 8-1826-who departed this life June 27-1831

aged four vears & eight months & nineteen days.
Daughter Waty R. Mott born Sept. 27-1829
Daughter Hannah R was born Oct. 8-1832
Daughter Sarah was bom May 26-1834
Daugliter Mary Catherine was bom Jan-24—1844
Abraham Rathbone Mott son of Daniel Mott & Catherine Rathbone was bom

Apr. 27-1806- his wife Lucretia Dodge Ball daughter of Edmund Ball &

Charity Dodge was born May 20-1811. were married Nov. 10-1830
Children :

Eziii R. who died in infancy.
Catherine born May 21-1832 died June 12-1846
Kathaniel born Dec. 18-1838 died Feb. 14-1864
Charity born July 20-1843 died Sept. 6-1859
Nathan born Mav 16-1846- m. Phebe C. Dickens
Phebe C. Dickens b. Feb. 27- 1846
Only child of Nathan Mott aud Phebe— a daughter— Lucretia Dodge Mott —

bom Nov. 19-1866- married Sept. 8-1886— Cassius Clay Ball son of Hon.

Nicholas Ball and Eliza Millikin. Cassius Clay Ball b. Nov. 15-1854.
A daughter born to Cassius Clay Ball & Lucretia Mott Ball — Dec. 22-1887 —

named Lucretia Beatrice Ball.
Abraham Rathbone Mott died Aug. 19-1867
His wife Lucretia died Feb. 10-1864.

New Shareham^ B. I. Lucretia Mott Baix.

De Blois : Additions. — Since the publication of the article entitled ''The
De Blois Family," in the present volume of the Register, pp. 6-21 (January,
1913), the following additional information about that family has been found.
In each case the pedigree number of the person concerning whom statements
are made and the page of the Register on which that person's record is given
have beei> inserted.

The house of Gilbert De Blois (4, p. 9), on the northeast comer of Tremont
and Bromfield Streets, was destroyed by fire as early as 1838, perhaps earlier.
On the same site was built the Boston Museum, which later became a publishing
house, still later the Montgomery Hotel, and finally Horticultural Hall. This
in time was supplanted by a new Horticultural Hall.

The following information about this Gilbert De Blois (4. pp. 8 et seq.) is
printed in an address by Rt. Rev. Thomas M. Clark. Bishop of Rhode Island,
entitled "An Historical Discourse delivered in St. John's Church. Providence,
R. I., in commemoration of the 150'*' anniversary of the Parish," Hartford, 1872,
p. 35, Appendix :

'■'■ The close of the war left this Church indebted to Mr. Gilbert Deblois for
the organ, who was at this time residing in London. It would seem that he had
served^ a process upon the parish for payment, and a committee was appointed
to write him and ask that ' he would give orders for withdrawing the process
which had been commenced.' and, in consideration of their diminished means,
consent to some abatement in his claim. 'We mean not. Sir, to obtrude a
lengthy Epistle : possessing as you do the same holy Religion we persuade oui'-
selvesthat your intention is not to distress the Church ; having so long experi-
enced the utUity of an organ in Divine Worship, we should deeply deplore its
loss.'

"Mr. Deblois replies, under date of London, Broadstairs, July 27, 1791. 'I
wish you had settled that business with me while at Boston and in my power
to favor the Church more than can now do, but after all my solicitations nothing

1913]

mtes 187

•was done that I could accept the offer, which oblij^ed me to leave the matter
unsettled witli my sister, for altho' the notes were taken in my name, it was
wholly my Father's Property and a part of his Estate, wh"^'^ to prevent falling
into tiie Virtuous hands of the Committee of Confiscation at his Death, he made
a will, and left his two Tory Sons five shillings each, giving the rest of his es-
tate to their children, who since the Peace gave it back to self and Brother
Lewis, who has agreed with me that you should pay W Amery Two hundred
Pounds Sterls ancfhis fees, and to give up to the Church tlie remainder of the
Interest of tlie s'' notes wh'^'' is a large sum, and wlien you consider tliat not
a shilling has been paid, either principal or interest, you must acknowledge the
sums now fixed are generous. I heartily wish your Ciiurch to increase, and ad-
vise not to sufler any Unexperienced Person to clean your Organ, wh<='^ is equal
to any of the size now in this Kingdom.'

" A subscription was made, amounting [to] £277. 13s. 4d., and the matter was
satisfactorily settled."

Gilbert De Blois (8, p. 15) married Elizabeth , the Boston Independent

Chronicle and Universal Advertiser of 9 Jan. 1794 announcing the death of " Mrs.
Elizabeth Deblois, wife of Mr. Gilbert Deblois, aet. 34."

Augusta Smith De Blois (9, v, p. IQl^ was married not to James but to Charles
Magee. She had one child, Margaret Magee, who was married to John A.
Walker, son of Judge William Walker of Lenox, Mass., to whom she bore four
children: 1. William, who died young. 2. Mary Magee. 3. Elliot, who mar-
ried in 1890 Alice Macy, daughter of tlie late Gen. Nelson Macy, and left three
children. Nelson, Charles Elliot, and Margaret Walker. 4. Louisa Huntington.

Thomas Melville De Blois (9, vi, p. 15), according to information supplied by
his niece, Miss Sarah Louisa Huntington, after his apprenticeship witli Bowie
& De Blois entered the civil service of the British government and was iu tlie
customs department of the post oftlce, living at the various places named. When
in the early fifties he left the customs service to go to California, he was iu the
direct line for promotion to the coUectorship of the port of Quebec. On his re-
turn from California in 18G2 or 1863 he spent some time at Salem, Mass., and
then settled at St. John, N. B., where he established a merchants' reading-room.
This was burned in the great fire at St. Jolm, and although he re-estal)lished it, it
never flourished so well again. In his birtiiday-book may be found the names
of many of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick De Bloises.

Caroline Louisa De Blois (9, vii, p. 1©) bore to her first husband, Charles C. C.
Tucker, the following children : 1. Elizabeth, died young. 2. Richard Dalton,
born 29 Jan. 1833, spent much of his life at Manila, iu China, and in London,
and died at Salem, Mass., in Apr. 1899. 3. Louisa, died young.

Lewis De Blois (10. p. 16) and his brother Francis (4, viii, p. 11), with others,
arrived at Boston from London in the ship Union, 25 Sept. 1784. (Boston
Records, Miscellaneous Papers.) This Lewis De Blois liad a son, not re-
corded on page 16, as tlie following obituary notice from the Boston Independent
Chronicle and Universal Advertiser of 18 July 1793 proves: '' At Philadelphia,
Master Dalton Deblois, only son of Mr. Lewis Deblois, merchant, of that city."

The wife of Nathaniel James De Blois (11, vii, p. 17) was Angelique Louise
Virginie, daughter of Jean Claude and Anne (Oufre) Rousse, who was born in
Virginia 22 July 1820. Tlie Rousse family subsequently removed to Augusta,
Ga., and later to Columbus, Ga. She married (1) in 1837 Homer Hurd, probably
from Milwaukee, Wis., who died about 1839. The only child of tliis marriage
was Emily Elizabetli Hurd, who was born in 1838 or 1839 and died unmarried
2 June 1909. Mrs. Hurd lived with her sister, Emily Jane Rousse. avIio was
married 2 Jan. 1843 to John Amory De Blois (19, p. 20). About 1845 Mrs. Hurd
married (2) Nathaniel James De Blois, younger brother of John Amory De Blois,
her sister's husband. Nathaniel James De Blois died s.p. at the United States
Hotel, Boston, 13 Aug. 1858, aged 52 years, 7 months, 28 days; and his widow
married (3) at Newport, R. I., 6 Sept. 1S64. as his second wife. Dr. Edward
Linzee Cunningham of Boston, whose first wife was Adeline Elizabeth AmoiT'.
Dr. Cunningliam was born in Boston 2 Jan. 1810, and died at Newport. R. I., iu
1905, the last surviving member of the class of 1829 of Harvard College. His
wife, Mrs. Angelique L. V. Cunningham, died at Newport 7 June 1898. The
two brothers, John Amory and Natlianiel James De Blois, were at one time in
the cotton business in the South, the former during the winter months pur-
chasing cotton at Columbus, Ga., and sending it down the river, and the latter

188 JSTotes [April

shipping it by sea from Appalachicola, Fla. (Information of Dr. Thomas Amory
De Blois of Boston; Register, vol. 55, p. 422 ; Heraldic Journal, vol. 4, p. 41.)

Catharine Laughton, the first wife of George De Blois (12, p. 17), was
daughter of Henry Laughtou.

According to Arnold's Vital Record of Rhode Island, vol. 15, p. 30, the wife
of Lewis be Blois, Jr. (13. p. 17) was Betsey Lawton, the Providence Gazette
of 25 Dec. 1784, as quoted by Arnold, recording the marriage of Lewis Deblois
"• of this town, merchant, and Betsey Lawton, daughter of Isaac, late of New-
port, at Nova Scotia." This Isaac Lawton was one of the five or six Lawtons
Avho settled in New Brunswick during or at the close of the Revolution.
(Sabine's American Loyalists, vol. 2; N. Y. Genealogical and Biographical
Becord, vol. 37, p. 211.) Lewis De Blois apparently had a daughter Sarah
(perhaps the name Mary on p. 17 of the present volume of the Register should
be Sarah), for in the first Trinity Church at St. .lohn. N. B., there was a tablet
with tlie following inscription: "Sacred To the Memory of Sarah DeBlois,
Late Superintendent in Trinity Church Sunday School, Who died P' June, 1869,

in the 78''> Year of her Age " It is said also that Lewis De Blois had a

son Gilbert.

It is said that Rev. Henry Despard De Blois (16, vi, p. 19) was born 7 Dec.
1830. and that 13 Oct. 1831 is the date of his baptism.

The Columbian Centinel of 26 Jan. 1805 announces the marriage of Francis
Gilbert De Blois (17, p. 19) as follows : " In Philadelphia, on the 6^^ inst. Mr.
Francis Deblois, to Miss MUlicent Conner, both of this town."

Boston^ Mass. Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eatox.

Plaisted. — William Plaisted, whose son "William married at GUmanton, N. H.,
29 Nov. 1781, Hannah^ Hucliins (vide supra, p. 183), was probably a grandson of
William^ (Roger^) Plaisted, who is mentioned in King's Lieut. Roger Plaisted,
p. 11. He would be, therefore, William* Plaisted, mariner, husbandman, of
Somersworth, N. H., 1743. of Moultouborough, N. H., 1774, and of New Hamp-
ton, N. H.. 1779. He was born probably at Dover, N. H.. about 1720, was living
in 1788 (Strafford Deeds, vol. 10. p. 475), but is not found in the Census of 1790.
He married about 1743 Judith* Riclier. daughter of John'' and Hannah (Garland),
who was born at Dover(?) 15 Nov. 1720 {Maine Genealogist, vol. 2, p. 107).

In June 1743 William Plaisted of Somersworth, mariner, bought 13 acres there
of Thomas Tibbetts and Olive his wife (N. H. Deeds, vol. 27. p. 478). In June
1768 he conveyed 16 acres there (ih., vol. 96, p. .32), and in Jan. 1774 his wife
Judith released her right of dower in the same 16 acres, where she and her hus-
band "now" live (Strafford Deeds, vol. 1, p. 131). Tate records in his manu-
script diary (p. 84) that " Wed. Feb. 21, 1774, Mr William Plaisted & son Wm &
families mov'd from Somersworth for a place called Moulton's Gore." In Dec.
1779 he bought 50 acres in the northeasterly corner of New Hampton, on the
easterly slope of Pettee Hill, adjoining on the south lands of his son William
and on the west lands of his son Samuel (Strafford Deeds, vol. 4, p. 159).

He is probably the William Plaisted who in 1776 was second lieutenant in the
Moultouborough company (N. H. State Papers, vol. 12, p. 8, vol. 14, p. 296).

Children of William'' and Judith (Ricker) Plaisted, born at Somersworth,
N. H. (Tate's MS. Diary, p. 15) : Hannah, 14 May 1745(?) ; William, 1750(?;,
for whom see below ; Olive ; Samuel, 1757.

William= Plaisted, son of William and Judith (Ricker), born about 1750, mar-
?ied (1)1 Aug. 1769 Anne Ford, daughter of John, wlio was born probably at
Berwick. Me. (Tate's MS. Diary, pp. 43. 49) ; he married (2) 29 Nov. 1781
Hannah' Huckius, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Fernald). By his first wife he
had: Daniel, born at Somersworth in 1770; Naomi, born at Somersworth 26
Sept. 1771; a child, born at Somersworth 14 Oct. 1773, died on the same day;
Ford, born perhaps at Moultouborough in 1775(?), said to have married ■■

Ames and to have removed to Canada or to Philadelphia (i&., p. 43). For chil-
dren of William* Plaisted by his second wife, vide supra, p. 183.

60 Wall Street, JSIew Tork, N. T. Henky Winxhrop Habdox.

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